Episode # 143 ^{_{(Click to Listen)}}

with Martha Kilpatrick and John Enslow

(M) I been brooding on that time when this man wanted to follow Jesus and he said but let me first bury my father. And Jesus, you would have thought would have been welcome him, “oh, yeah, come on.” No, He said, come on when you can, but Jesus answered let the dead bury the dead. In other words, what Jesus is laying down here, John, is choose. Choose who’s going to be your family, Me or them. And I don’t think it means that you mistreat them, of course, but He is calling literally for a choice between your parents and Him. Because they were the first ‘gods’ of your life, and behind them is God and He is calling for that ownership as His right. He’s saying as the Bridegroom, leave father and mother and cleave to Me. When I bring the sword and your parents don’t understand your Christianity, or they don’t understand your calling, and they don’t approve of it, are you going to please them, or are you going to accept the sword; and let you be divided. Because, we don’t, we really don’t like or want or believe or accept that Christ brings a division in a family, but He does.

(J) It seems like a big dichotomy though, you know I mean it’s very difficult unless you’re just willing for God to be God, to hold both of those things in your hand, you know?

(M) You really can’t. I think it’s really all a work of the Spirit, and our job is just to say yes, and suffer through it; it is a suffering, the sword is not a pleasant thing. It’s a surgical instrument of life and a warring instrument of death. The sword is an instrument of violence.

(J) So is surrender to a failing human being utterly as a child… I mean that’s frightening to be that vulnerable to another person who is not perfect but very imperfect. And to be that vulnerable, that’s incredible suffering, but it’s the suffering that is required.

(M) So He does call us to leave the parent. And you know what that really is? It’s to leave being like them, having your inheritance from them. It’s a much deeper thing than just, as you say, geographical leaving, or even emotional love meaning. It means that you’re not like them anymore. You’re like the… you’re born again into a different family. You’re born again of another order, of another nature, of another inheritance, of a different temperament, of a different life. And in order to embrace that life fully, you have to leave the old natural, earthly, earth-bound, worldly ties. You have to leave that because you’re no longer human in the sense that you have a divine life. You can still live human if you want to, but you don’t have to. And God calls you to leave that natural connection, that natural inheritance. I inherited my grandfathers chestnut hair, I inherited my father’s temper, I inherited my mother’s domesticity; I inherited so many things from them. Some will be retained. In fact I’m in a current death to my domesticity. I love homemaking; that’s what you do if you’re a woman. Even in your older years I think that’s what you do, but I don’t have time. And so, I’m leaving my inheritance even now. And I’m trying to come into the purpose God has in Christ for me. And so I’m actually leaving my mother and my inheritance again. Do you see?

(J) Oh yeah.

(M) You have inherited all that Christ is. You have been given every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Do you possess that? Do you live it? Do you manifest it? No! Not until you leave your parents, and that inheritance. Not until you stop believing that you’re like papa, or you’re like aunt Sue, or you’re just exactly like your mother. If you are it’s because you haven’t forgiven them. I’m about to get passionate here, even on the road. It’s just; you don’t come into your ‘self’ until you understand you belong to a different family. And God bless your parents, and I thank you for them God, and I bless them, and I’ll help them, as I’ve done. I took care of three of them to their grave. One, two three, yeah, three, and that was privilege, great, great privilege; and a terrible and great privilege. And so you do God’s will; you don’t set out to help your parent or take care of them, you set out to do God’s will. And where that will of God is to take care of them you lay down your life. But you still belong to God. You still are of another family, of another order. And Jesus in Mark three… this is an awesome, awesome situation. Jesus’ family got together and decided He was crazy, that He was doing the strangest things. He was not like them at all. And so they had to go and take Him away. So they came to get Him and apparently He was indoors with some disciples, men and women, and they said your mother and you brothers are here. And He said, looked around the room and said, who are My mother and sisters and brothers? Those who do the will of God. So He set family not only in the born-again position, but you really are only in that family inside the will of God. You can only access it, enjoy it and receive it when you’re in the will of God. So your family is those who are in the will of God. And John, few there are who are going to be that radical and that severe in their affection and loyalty to Christ. But He aligned Himself, not with His inherited natural family; they had to come to Him on His terms. Sometimes as a mother you have to pray, “I will not go to my children’s terms, they’ll have to come to mine.” And… But I’m not budging from my faith or my obedience for my children’s demands. I’m not going to do it. I would be denying my God, and I would die right there. I won’t do it. And so the test of this family thing is huge. It goes on and on. Ok, Luke gives a kind of different account of this. He says, “Jesus says, I’ve come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled, for I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished. Do you suppose that I came to bring peace on earth? No, but rather division.” Not only a sword, which is violent, but here the word is division. “I will divide from now on five members will be divided in one household, three against two, and two against three.” They’ll be divided a father against son, and son against daughter. And you know, I have seen, John, where people wanted Christ and mother, Christ and father. And you end up without God, and with mommy. It’s very, very serious that when that revolution comes, you stay on the right side and weather the storm, however it manifests, whether it’s a confrontation with parents, whether it’s… Whatever it is, whether you go to the mission field and they don’t understand it. You have to have the right attitude, but you are called to accept the division that Christ creates, because basically the worldly will oppose the child of God. And even sometimes, Christian parents will oppose their children’s particular salvation. So again, it’s basic, it’s basic to the law of God, but it is also basic to the demands of Christ. It’s a… Everywhere it’s basic, what you do with parents, everywhere is basic, primal. And it affects your destiny and your eternity.

(Coming conference information)

(J) When faced with turmoil on all fronts, there is a power available to the Body of Christ. The Church must rise in fullness to manifest the presence of Christ in this crucial hour. We at Shulamite Ministries want to invite you to join us for the sequel to our May conference. In “The Coming One” conference, Martha gave a message of hope and preparation for times of trouble and crisis. Martha’s current burden is specific to the authority of the transcendent church, the Body of Christ, not limited by time or location. So come fellowship with us in Atlanta, Georgia, October 23^rd through the 25^th, and partake of Christ’s heart to make His Bride ready.